Coast of Darwin Australia by

Background Information

brantd1 — 2024-10-03 15:26:09 UTC

Darwin, Australia is a beautiful coast off of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is a popular tourist site and is one of Australia's smallest capital cities. Some of the most popular tourist attractions are the cities' markets, hiking, crocodile encounters, and sunset cruises.

Description

brantd1 — 2024-10-08 03:42:14 UTC

The coast of Darwin, named after famous scientist Charles Darwin, serves as a port

in the Northern Territory in Australia. It can be found in a low peninsula which

consists of primarily flat headlands and is bordered by mangrove swamps. It has a

tropical savanna climate which consists of a wet and dry season. The temperature

is warm to hot all year round and has an average rainfall of around 1,700mm per

year. The site was first settled in 1869, and was used as a military base in the

1930s. In 1974 a cyclone took out and destroyed the city of Darwin, which led to

its second rebuild following the first after being bombed by the Japanese in 1942.

The economy is Darwin is heavily reliant upon mining, Timor sea oil exploration,

and export of cattle.

Sources

brantd1 — 2024-10-08 03:42:35 UTC

_{Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2024, September 25).}_Darwin_._{Encyclopedia Britannica}_._{https://www.britannica.com/place/Darwin-Northern-Territory}

Tides

brantd1 — 2024-10-08 04:02:28 UTC

Here in Darwin, it is semi-diurnal which means there is two high tides and two low tides each day. Furthermore there is also a strong diurnal inequality. The highest tide recorded in Darwin has been around 8m. Therefore, the harbor of Darwin Australia is a macrotidal estuary. During spring tides in Darwin it is known to be an ideal time for fishing due to stronger currents being present. This is due to greater tidal movement which results in stronger currents being present during the spring tide compared to the neap tide. Therefore, it can be said that there is a major spring-neap fluctuation. In addition, peak tidal currents are about 25% larger at flood tides than ebb tides.

Sources

brantd1 — 2024-10-08 04:02:36 UTC

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/tides/#!/nt-darwin

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227064588_Hydrodynamics_of_Darwin_Harbour

Daily Tide Charts

brantd1 — 2024-10-08 04:18:12 UTC

Daily tide charts for Darwin Australia- showing the semi-dirunal tide pattern.

Waves

brantd1 — 2024-10-22 03:18:47 UTC

Darwin harbor is naturally protected which results in little wave activity. The waves are normally limited to short periods when being propagated from the Beagle Gulf. The waves can also be generated by local winds. Underneath these short period waves are water particles moving in circular motion, and these movements rarely go deep enough to reach the bottom. Due to Darwin being a macro-tidal estuary this variation in tide can affect the waves. During high tide the waves will be less steep compared to low tide. Another important factor to consider is their wet and dry season, and how storms or cyclones can affect the waves. In Darwin, during cyclones or bad storms the waves will be coming from the northwest and become much more powerful due to swells becoming present. However, the average wave height here is approximately less than one meter. In the video above, it shows what the waves in Darwin look like during a storm- hence why there are surfers out there!

Sources

brantd1 — 2024-10-22 03:19:06 UTC

https://search.informit.org/doi/epdf/10.3316/informit.709371144194818

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272771420306624

https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/286773/EAW_EIS_ch8.pdf

Sediment

brantd1 — 2024-11-05 03:20:40 UTC

In Darwin, the sediment there is mostly made up of fine sized sediments such as mud and sand. During the dry season research shows that sediment dynamics are dominated by a flood asymmetry. Eulerian velocity and tidal pumping proved to be dominating the suspended sediment concentration in the harbour. In addition, during monsoon season it was seen that as a result of tidal pumping, sediment flux formed an eddy at the entrance and East arm of the harbour. This prevented sediment from being transported to the upper arms of the Harbour. During Spring tide in the outer harbour's sediment was impacted by waves. The mixture of currents and waves increased bottom shear stress and resuspended sediment found on the sea floor. It was also found when fine particles around the size of 2 μm were transported they were likely to become trapped in Mangrove areas of the harbour.

Sources

brantd1 — 2024-11-05 03:22:18 UTC

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-7019-5_7

Natural Problems

brantd1 — 2024-11-14 02:17:37 UTC

Darwin has experienced earthquakes, floods, and cyclones throughout its history. However, its most remembered natural disaster would be Cyclone Tracy that hit on Christmas Day in 1974. This cyclone was recorded as one of the most destructive in Australian history as the statistics surrounding it were quite horrific. The winds reached a high of 217 km/h, storm surge of 1.6 meters in Darwin Harbour, and over the span of 12 hours there was 255 mm of rainfall. Tracy killed 66 people, left 145 people seriously injured, and 500 with minor injuries. In addition, the cyclone destroyed around 70% of houses in Darwin due to serious structural failure leaving the total damage bill to a whopping $800 million. It was said that if Tracy were had occurred during the daytime the number of fatalities would exponentially increased as most of the deaths were due to flying debris and being crushed beneath their houses. Following this tragedy, Darwin had to be evacuated as the survivors were left with no running water, shelter, sanitation, or electricity. Ultimately, it took Darwin over three years to rebuild and reconstruct and by 1978 the population reached back to it's pre-cyclone levels.

Sources

brantd1 — 2024-11-14 02:18:29 UTC

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/cyclone-tracy

Anthropogenic Impacts

brantd1 — 2024-11-28 00:31:50 UTC

Darwin is viewed as one of the world's most undisturbed marine estuary ecosystem; however, it is still subject to anthropogenic factors. One main factor is mismanagement of the beaches and human interference which have had a direct impact on the beach and dune systems here. When looking at the coastal cliff erosions it was found to have rates of around 30cm a year. In regards to the sand dunes it has been observed that they have been victims to substantial erosion. The notable Cullen Bay sandbar as well has endured reduction of volume due to dredging and cyclones. Little research has been done for the sand dynamics here and coastal processes despite evident erosion. I believe more research should be conducted here in order to inform for proper beach management, and if any preventative action should be taken. This area is also popular amongst tourists and travellers making it even more important for proper monitoring and research to be conducted.

Sources

brantd1 — 2024-11-28 00:34:16 UTC

https://ris.cdu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/26975876/Thesis_CDU_26274554_Tonyes_S.pdf